The Museum of the Metropolis of New York (MCNY) holds what’s arguably an important assortment of early graffiti artwork and ephemera, amassed by Martin Wong, a queer Chinese language-American self-taught painter who wore cowboy hats and, for a time, paid for his lodging in a dingy Decrease East Facet resort room by working as an evening porter. Drawn to the bustling artwork scene of late Seventies New York, Wong developed a decent community of associates in what could have appeared like an surprising neighborhood on the time: graffiti writers, who would ultimately be acknowledged as creating a wholly new type of artwork, emulated in each nook of the globe.
Left: Lee Quiñones, “In The Yard on Doomsday” (1979) (picture courtesy Museum of the Metropolis of New York; Reward of Martin Wong, 94.114.175)Heart: Chris “Daze” Ellis, “Phobia” (1983) (picture courtesy Museum of the Metropolis of New York; Reward of Martin Wong, 94.114.22)Proper: Rammellzee, “Atomic Futurism” (1987) (picture courtesy Museum of the Metropolis of New York; Reward of Martin Wong, 94.114.59)
At a time when society reviled graffiti artists as petty criminals, Wong started gathering their drawings, sketchbooks (or “blackbooks”), and ultimately, work on canvas. He additionally painted shifting,intimate portraits of the artists themselves. This was only one avenue he explored in his sprawling physique of labor, which ranges from detailed urbanscapes bustling with the lifetime of the town, to surreal ceramics and scrolls influenced by conventional Chinese language calligraphy.
Martin Wong, “My Secret World, 1978-81” (1984) (© Martin Wong Basis; picture courtesy Martin Wong Basis and P·P·O·W, New York)
Earlier than his demise as a result of issues associated to AIDS within the Nineties, Wong donated his beloved graffiti assortment to the MCNY. Lots of its prized items by famend graffiti artists together with Futura 2000, Keith Haring, Woman Pink, Rammelzee, DAZE, and others are on view now within the exhibition Above Floor: Artwork from the Martin Wong Graffiti Assortment.
Martin Wong (third from proper) and artists together with Lee Quiñones (far left) at Frank Bernarducci Gallery in 1988 (picture courtesy Martin Wong Basis and P·P·O·W, New York)
This episode of the Hyperallergic Podcast was recorded throughout a stay panel on the MCNY on March 10 celebrating Wong’s assortment and life. Hyperallergic Editor-in-Chief Hrag Vartanian moderated the dialogue between Wong’s longtime good friend and roommate Lee Quiñones, P·P·O·W Gallery Co-Founder Wendy Osloff, and curator Sean Corcoran, who organized the exhibition.
In entrance of a crowd of some 100 Hyperallergic Members and their associates, the panelists shared tales of the singular artist, his love of gathering, and his extravagant storytelling. As Quiñones remembers, Wong as soon as stated, “Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.”
Set up view of Above Floor: Artwork from the Martin Wong Graffiti Assortment at Museum of the Metropolis of New York (picture courtesy Museum of the Metropolis of New York; picture by Brad Farwell/Museum of the Metropolis of New York)
Above Floor: Artwork from the Martin Wong Graffiti Assortment continues on the Museum of the Metropolis of New York (1220 Fifth Avenue, Higher East Facet, Manhattan) by means of August 10.
Subscribe to the Hyperallergic Podcast on Apple Podcasts, and wherever you take heed to podcasts. This episode can be obtainable with photos of the art work on YouTube.
